Wolf Link shook his furry head. How was he going to do it? Epona had asked
him to facilitate a meeting for her with Zelda’s white mare, Snowflake.

“I don’t see how that’s going to
work. For starters, I don’t have any reason to go to the castle, and I’m quite
sure that the knights aren’t going to be comfortable with a big black wolf
running round the grounds, least of all in the stables,” he said. “Besides, why
would you want to talk to that stuffy old nag anyway? You’ve got a whole forest
full of animals, a herd of goats, and a scary-looking wolf here! What more could
you ask for?” He flashed the horse a fang filled grin.

“Is it too much to ask that I have
friends of my own that aren’t goats, monkeys or shape changers?” she snorted.

“Not at all—” Wolf Link was cut off
by the sound of crunching snow that neither of them had made. Those footsteps are too heavy to be any
forest creature. Someone’s coming! He thought.

“Quiet!” he hissed. He backed up
toward the gate to try and see who was coming. It’s always better if you see your enemy before they see you, he
remembered Rusl telling him in one of their sparring sessions. He perked his
ears and snuffed in alarm when someone stepped out of the shadow of a large
tree.

It was Colin.

Wolf Link immediately flattened his
ears, raised his tail, backed up a few yards more and growled menacingly in
high hopes that Colin would believe he was a real wolf.

“Nice try, Link. Wow…you’re more
remarkable than I thought! How come you hadn’t told me about this sooner? This
could have really helped me when Dad sent me hunting last week,” said the boy
in an awestruck tone. Link reassumed his human form.

“I really didn’t want to tell anybody, Colin, no one at all. If I had
it my way, I wouldn’t even know about
it,” he replied.

“Oh yeah, I understand completely.
I’m pretty sure that they’d be shocked, especially Fado. You know how much he
hates wolves, but he’s a goat brain, anyway. I guess you want me to keep this a
secret, then?” Colin asked as he patted Epona on the head.

“You guessed right, Colin. If it
proves to be too much trouble for you later on, let me know, alright?”

“Don’t worry about it anymore. So,
what other magic can you do, Link?” he said. The elder boy grinned.

“Come over some time and I’ll show
you. It’ll have to wait a while ‘cause I’m going away tomorrow to the River of Realms1…wherever that
is. Believe me, some of my abilities
I just found out about pretty recently,” Link said as he climbed the ladder up
to his house and bid Colin a good evening. Once inside, he discovered a letter
on the table upon which he mended saddles. It read:

Link:

If you are a corporeal form whilst
reading this, I wish you to reply to this letter as soon as possible. It is in
my concern to know how well you fare after the attack. Do not forget that the River of Realms awaits you tomorrow.

If you are a spirit reading this, I bid you
a peaceful rest in the Sacred Realm. You may communicate with me occasionally
when I do my prayers during the full moon. In any case,

Farewell,

Zelda

“So there’s a fifty percent chance
she thinks I’m dead too, eh? Better correct her way of thinking,” Link said to
himself. He got out a quill, a bottle of ink and parchment and then wrote:

Zelda:

I’m
not dead, but very much alive, actually. Reply to me with the time you left
Ordon and enclose where you are currently staying so that I can communicate
with you anytime.

When
I get back from the River
of Realms, I’ll have to
check out what’s causing the Bublin Rider infestation in Hyrule Field (Kakariko
Gorge area). You may want to send some knights out there, or, then again, maybe
not2.

Many
happy returns,

Link

Link called down a hawk, attached
the letter to its leg and said, “Go to princess Zelda. Have a safe and swift
flight!” he watched it fly out of sight, then proceeded to iron his best tunic,
a red one embroidered with the Hylian Eagle in gold across the chest. It had
been a gift from the king when he had unofficially knighted Link. When he
finished, he gingerly pulled it over his head and laced up the tie.

“Eh, it still fits! You’ve got to
brush that mane of yours, Link. Maybe get a trim…,” he said to himself,
checking his reflection in a cleaver. He couldn’t find an actual brush (due to
the fact that he didn’t own one), so instead he used a horse brush. Deciding he
was somewhat presentable, Link belted on SunFire and went outside.

Link walked over to Epona and gave
her an apple. The horse snorted her thanks as he grabbed the reins and led her
to Mayor Bo’s house. As soon as he could read “Mayor Bo’s house” on the sign
out front, Link’s heart began its way into his throat.

“Eh, maybe I should come another
time,” he whispered nervously to himself. “But no! Come on, if you can stare
down a thousand pound dragon3, then you should be able to do this in your sleep!” He mustered up
all the courage he possessed, which was a great deal, and attempted to mount
the porch steps.When his toe rested on
the wood, he lost his nerve. He groaned and turned around, burying his face in
Epona’s mane.The horse promptly snorted
and stomped as a signal for him to keep going.

“Right, right, keep your horseshoes
on,” he growled. Get a move on, you goat
brain! Is your best friend really scarier than Dark Lord Ganondorf? Link
silently scolded himself. Get a move on!He grasped the gilt steel door knocker in the
shape of a goat’s head and thudded it against the door. He heard a scraping
sound from on the other side as someone slid the bolt and opened up the
entrance. Link stepped past the threshold into the main part of the two story
house, where he found the mayor standing tall and crossing his arms while
peering at him with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Well, aren’t we looking smart this
evening? I think you need to fire your groomer, though. It looks like they
mistook you for Epona!”Bo said, nodding
at Link’s feeble attempt to manage his unruly hair.

“Ha ha,” Link said with a sarcastic
laugh. “Very funny, but good eye, though. I actually did use a horse brush, since I don’t have a human brush.”

“Hm! So, where are you going looking
like that? I don’t think that a fancy getup is quite practical for
adventuring,” said the mayor as he began pacing in front of the flustered
Hylian shepherd. Link frowned at him and mimicked his posture.

“We aren’t going anywhere important
or dangerous for that matter, just to CastleTown.
Why do you ask me of this?” he asked.

“Well, you have your sword on, for
one thing. Do you expect danger of any kind? Will you be prepared for an
ambush, in case there is one?” the mayor answered. Link could tell that he was
still quite upset about the other day’s fight, and was worried that it would
happen again. He sighed.

“Mayor Bo, in these times you always have to expect danger, you know
that. Don’t have worry, because you’ll be sure that I can and will protect Ilia
with my life. I’d take a sword thrust through my heart for her,” Link said,
putting his right hand over his heart to swear his pledge. As Bo nodded his
compliance, Ilia came downstairs.

“What’s going on down here? I hope
you two aren’t arguing, because I’m not going to clean up your blood, father,
if the two of you come to blows and Link decides to bring out his sword. But if
that will happen, I’ll surely destroy you, Link,” she said.

Link turned round and faced her.
She, in his opinion, looked stunning and he said so.

“Why thank you,” she said bashfully.
“Are you ready to go, or do you want to punch my father first?” Link snorted,
and so did the mayor.

“Yeah, keep teasing,” he
warned, “and maybe it’s you that’ll
be having a knuckle sandwich for supper.”

“Perhaps two,” Mayor Bo added. Ilia
rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture at the both of them.
She put on her goatskin coat lined with wolf fur (Link would scowl disgustedly
whenever he saw her wearing it) and followed Link out the door. Outside, he
helped Ilia into the double saddle resting on Epona’s back. The saddle shifted
dangerously when she tried to settle herself, and as such, she almost fell off
of the fourteen hand high horse.

“Link! A little help, please?” Ilia
shrieked as she grabbed hold of the reins and pulled herself back up. Link
crouched under the horse and tightened the strap. He moved out from under Epona
and pulled on the stirrup to check the tightness of the saddle and found it was
just right.

“That’s better,” he said, satisfied.
“Alright, let’s go.” He swung in the saddle and nudged Epona’s sided with his
heels. The horse gave a quiet neigh and started out of the village. They rode
past Link’s house and into Ordon woods, from there, across the Great Bridge4. They made their way through Faron Woods and into South Hyrule
Field.

The ride was quiet and undisturbed
until the sky opened up and released a torrent of thick snow and ice pellets.
Link yanked the reins to the left and directed Epona under a copse of trees
with thickly knitted branches. He figured that the horse would be bruised from
the falling tiny missiles of ice.

“Good gods!” he cried. “Why now?”
Those simple phrases were the beginning of his tirade of complaining and
insults to the sky. Still seething, Link grabbed Ilia’s hand and led her into a
small cave that was situated in the rock wall of Kakariko Gorge. He exhaled
loudly and ran his fingers through his wet hair. Shaking the droplets of
melting ice from his head and shoulders, he brought out his lantern and lit it.
Instantly, the crudely carved out shelter was bathed in a soothingly warm
orange glow. However, the Hylian hero’s anger was not abated by it. Frustrated,
he picked up a small stone and hurled it out into the sleet. Ilia’s words from
earlier that day rang in his mind.

Maybe this is as far as we
get, you know, just saying ‘hi’ if our paths happen to cross. Do you think that
it is fated that we remain at arm’s length?

“Link, relax,” she told him gently. “It’s only a little snow and
rain, what harm could it do?” He shrugged and then sighed.

“No arm, I suppose. It’s just that….”

“Just what? You can tell me anything, Link. You can trust me.” He turned his back
to her and stared out into the storm’s growing ferocity.

“Whoa!” It’s getting worse, we’ll never get there now, unless….
Ilia, what I’m about to tell you, it has to be kept a secret, can you promise
me this?” said Link, his heart suddenly racing like a champion racehorse.

“I promise,” she replied solemnly. Link faced his friend to see her staring
at him with a look of complete sincerity. He took a deep breath to steady
himself, then pictured a large black and white wolf, threw back his head and
howled. When he opened his eyes, he heard Ilia gasp audibly. Fearing the worst
yet again, Wolf Link turned his eyes on her, and she staring at him with a
horrified look on her face. With wilted ears and a drooping tail, Wolf Link
thought, well, I tried. I guess I’d
better get used to being looked at like a freak by my best friend, someone who
has known me for my entire life. I think I expect too much of my friends.

“What…what sorcery is this? I guessed many things had changed about
you, Link, but changed is an
understatement! For you to be practising black magic…have the evils you sought
to destroy possessed you? Telma was right…you are a beast!” said Ilia, her voice full of sadness…and betrayal.
Link became himself.

“Ilia…you have to listen to me. I…”
Link trailed off, feeling defeated. How could he make her understand? For sure
he’d have to rely on his incredible luck. “Ilia, I think it’s time I told you
the whole story.”

“That would be nice.”

“Ha ha…. As you know, my adventures
started on the day when I was originally supposed to leave for HyruleCastle….
Well, after you and Colin got carted off by those monsters, and after I came to
from getting whacked in the head, I ran after you all and met a black wall that
blocked off Faron Woods. Well, I ran right up to it and a big black arm grabbed
me—” Link made the motion— “and pulled me through. That’s when I felt such a
blinding pain, so I passed out again.

“When I woke up, I was a wolf and in
the dungeon of HyruleCastle. That’s when I met
Midna, an imp from the Twilight Realm. She helped me escape the dungeon and
took me to meet princess Zelda, who told us about what happened to Hyrule. So,
we began to assemble the Fused Shadows that had been broken up and hidden in the ForestTemple, Goron Mines, and the LakebedTemple
at the bottom of LakeHylia.

“However, Zant appeared and caused all kinds of
damage. He took the Fused Shadows, and embedded a black crystal in my forehead,
and exposed Midna to the light of Spirit Lanayru, critically injuring her. I
rushed Midna to Princess Zelda, who revealed that the only way I could return
to my normal form was to find the Master Sword.
Zelda combined her heart with Midna’s to heal her, allowing her to exist
outside of the Twilight. After we reached the Master Sword, Zant’s black
crystal was forced out of me.

“We traveled through GerudoDesert
and conquered the Arbiter’s Grounds dungeon to reach the Mirror of Twilight—the
only way to enter the Twilight Realm and stop Zant—only to discover that Zant
had broken it.

“The ancient sages who guard the mirror revealed
that they banished Ganondorf, an evil thief Lord to the Twilight Realm using the
Mirror, and that he may have been the source of Zant’s frightening, newfound
powers.

“They also stated that Zant attempted to destroy the Mirror completely, but
could not do so, because only the true ruler of the Twili had the power to do
so, and Zant's powers were false. He could only break it into four fragments,
and three were missing.

“After journeying through the Snowpeak Ruins, the Temple of Time, and the City in the Sky, we obtained
the missing Mirror shards. After we restored the Mirror, the sages reveal that
Midna is the true ruler of the Twili, the Twilight Princess, and that Zant’s
curse turned her into an imp, just as I had been turned into a wolf.

“When we confronted Zant in the Twilight Realm, he
explained that he encountered Ganondorf while in a rage about being passed over
as the king of the Twili. Ganondorf offered to make Zant’s wishes come true,
and made Zant a vessel for his power. Midna got back the Fused Shadows, and
used it to kill Zant, though he returned to life afterwards due to Ganondorf’s
power.

“We then traveled back to HyruleCastle
and brought the fight to Ganondorf. Of course, he was defeated and then the
curse on Midna broke. She went back to the Twilight Realm, and then Zelda and I
returned to our respective homes. And, well, here we are. I’m not a sorcerer,
Ilia,” Link finished, taking a long drink of water from his canteen. Ilia stood
silent with her eyes closed, and when she opened them, her eyes were full of
tears.

“Take me home, Link,” she said quietly.

“What?”

“I wish to go back to Ordon. Please take me
there.”

“Ah…how come? What’s wrong? Hm—” Link paused, then
shook his head. “Wait, I know exactly what. I knew this would happen! I told
myself you’d take this badly, and I was right! Why don’t I ever listen to my
inner voice? Why don’t you trust me, Ilia?” His friend looked scandalized.

“Why do you think I don’t trust you?” she asked.
Link snorted indignantly.

“Well for starters, you freaked out when I
told-showed-you my wolf form,” he replied.

“What did you expect? How was I supposed to react,
Link? I’m from a small village that’s practically cut off from the rest of the
world. I’m not as well traveled as you, and when I find out that a person I’ve
known for me whole life can change his shape, of course I’m going to freak
out!” she replied crossly.

“Ah, well. The snow stopped, so let’s get you
home. Only the gods know your father won’t want you hanging around with a
werewolf. I’ve got to get home to pack anyway. I’ve been set to go on a mission
that could take months, years! I’ve got to establish alliances with—” Link’s
words were cut off by Ilia rushing forward and throwing her arms around him.

“Be quiet, you fool,” she said as she nestled her
head into his chest. “You really do talk too much.”

“Yeah, sure,” Link replied, his smile creeping
into his voice. When she released him, she said,

“Link, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you
feel that badly. I was afraid, that’s all.” Link frowned confusedly.

“Scared of what? When you’re with me, you’ve got
nothing to fear. Didn’t you hear my Scout’s oath that I gave your dad? I’ll do
anything and everything in my power to protect you,” he said soothingly.

“I know. I was just afraid that you would move on
and forget about me, about Ordon. I don’t want to lose you, Link. You’re my
heart’s hope.” At this, Link was rendered completely speechless. His mouth
formed words, but no sound came out. When he found his voice, he said,

“Ilia, I’m not going to let your heart down.” Ilia
smiled.

“Alright, my hero, I believe you. Shall we?” and
with that, Link and Ilia retrieved Epona from her woodland shelter and finished
their travels.

Chapter Six: The Ranger

EVEN UNTO THE NEXT
MORNING, LINK FELT THE MIRTH STILL living inside of him. He was having severe
trouble grasping the fact that his irrational fears of Ilia’s reaction to his
wolf form were no more. Further more, was that they were closer friends than
ever…maybe more. Still, evil waited for no man. Link finished packing his bags
and said his farewells to everyone in Ordon village and departed for the River of Realms with Epona in tow.

FIVE YEARS LATER

“Ilia! Come downstairs, I’ve got a
question for you,” her father called, his weary voice giving way to a cough.
Especially in the past few moons, Ilia felt that her father’s health had been
deteriorating far too rapidly. He was not very old, since his age had not yet
exceeded sixty years

“Coming, Father!” she shouted back,
rushing downstairs. Though it had indeed been a subtle change, when Ilia looked
at a portrait of her father when he was her age and then compared it to him in
the present time, there was a startling difference. The aging mayor stood from
his cushioned chair, and even that simple movement worried her about whether or
not his back was going to go out.

“Dearest…as I am clearly in no fit
position to do so, and as Rusl has taken Abbigail to her first day of school,
will you venture to Kakariko village to retrieve my medication from Renado?” he
asked.

“I will, papa.”

“Thank you. Take Thunderpaw with
you. He’ll keep you safe,” said the mayor. Thunderpaw was Ordon’s sheepdog,
and, Ilia felt, a weak replacement for Link and Epona. Ilia fetched the dog
from Fado’s house and began her foot march to the village.

Awhile later, she arrived at the
bridge that spanned Kakariko Gorge. She was about to cross it when five Bublin
Riders charged toward her. The Bublin infestation in Hyrule Field had become
steadily worse over the past half decade. In response to the coming threat,
Thunderpaw retreated behind her with his tail between his legs.

“You coward! You’re supposed to
protect me!” Ilia cried as she tried to climb a nearby tree. Her feet couldn’t
seem to grip the rough bark at all. She scrabbled up the tree, trying to grab
onto its leafless branches, but failed and slipped down into the snow. This is it, she thought. I’m going to die…who will take care of my father?

Just as the Riders were bearing down
on her, a figure in a dark green and brown mottled cloak riding a roan horse
galloped toward her. Drawing two swords, they rode right into the Bublins’
midst, slashing all the while. Once the monsters had been defeated and the
Bulbo had darted madly away, the rider stopped and regarded her through a metal
mask that was forged to the likeness of an eagle’s visage.

“Thank—” Ilia began, but the rider
made his/her horse rear and gallop back in the direction from which they came.
She scowled, thinking how rude!
Though it took her well into the night, she delivered to her father is
medication.

õ

“Lady Zelda?” said a voice from
behind her. It was the knight she had summoned.

“Approach. What news have you for
me?”

“I have received reports from
sentries stationed in all parts of Hyrule that a mysterious cloaked figure
known only as ‘The Ranger’ has been carrying out all kind of reckless attacks
on the monsters, my Lady. The other knights are worrying that…well; they think
he’s making them look bad,” said the knight as he inspected his boots through
squinted eyes.

“I see. What harm is this ‘Ranger’
actually doing, sergeant?” Zelda turned around to face the knight. “Is he
endangering the lives of the people of Hyrule? I think not. I wish to hear no
more complaints about him, am I understood?”

“But, Lady Zelda—”

“No
more complaints! Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You are dismissed.” After the
knight had taken his leave, Zelda sighed and rubbed her eyes. If some vigilante
wanted to help out Hyrule then he was, in her opinion, entitled. For many moons
this Ranger had been sighted slicing through massive groups of monsters like a
hot knife through ice. People had many theories about who this masked stranger
could be. She herself had multiple speculations, and all of them seemed to be
centred on a certain Hylian hero….

õ

Rusl and Colin were hiking up to the
Goron Mines for a job interview.

“Now Colin, as you know, the Goron
are an extremely proud people,” Rusl explained. “Try not to say anything that
might insult one; it just may be the last thing you ever do.” Colin nodded.
He’d been dealing with the tough mountain people for the better part of five
years and knew how to speak to them. He may have only been sixteen years old,
but he was certainly not stupid, nor was he going to deliberately insult a
giant five hundred pound—plus—rock man!

They were nearly halfway up the
mountain trail when a huge mountain lion pounced onto the path in front of
them, its face set in a feral snarl. It was the very face of danger, the cat’s
black lips drawn back to reveal three inch long canine fangs, and its yellow
eyes narrowed fiercely. Rusl drew his sword inlaid with Ordon goat horns and
pushed his unarmed son behind him.

“Colin, watch out! Go back to
Kakariko and warn everyone! If I don’t reappear, assume the beast’s still
alive. Go now!” Rusl said quietly so
as not to provoke the lion further. Colin ran back down the mountain trail as
fast as his legs could carry him. He didn’t get far when he saw a dark green
and brown mottled cloaked figure leaping amongst the rocks above him. He/she
drew an arrow from the quiver strung across his/her back, nocked it and fired,
all within one fluid movement. From further up the trail, Colin heard an angry
roar and hid behind a large boulder as the cat came leaping into sight,
spitting and growling.

It leapt at the strange man/woman
with its lethal claws extended, ready to sink them into his/her flesh. The
mysterious person drew a gleaming golden bladed sword and met the cat’s charge
by skewering it. He/she withdrew the blade from the dead beast and wiped its
blood off on the tawny fur, saluted Colin and then ran off. Rusl came running
up to him, slightly out of breath.

“Colin…what happened?” he panted as
he inspected his son for wounds.

“I’m fine, dad, but that lion’s
not,” Colin replied.

“Did you see who killed it?”

“I did, but I don’t know exactly who
it was but I have an idea,” the boy said shakily.

“Who was it, son?”

“It was the Ranger.”

õ

“Alright, Louise, whose invoice do
we have to bully about this time?” said Telma to her fluffy white Persian cat.
Lately, her bar’s patrons’ tabs kept climbing in number and as a result, she’d
had had to close down in order to make collections herself. She and Louise were
standing in CastleTown central square, and
Telma was digging through a box of invoices when suddenly, a gang of ruffian
boys overran her and kicked Louise. Through the scuffle, they had managed to
steal her purse.

“Hey!” she yelled angrily, shaking a
fist. “Get back here, you bunch of hooligans! I’d call the Town Watch on y’all
if they weren’t so damn useless. What
are we going to do now? Where’s that Ranger when you truly need him?” From
behind her, someone cleared his throat.

“Why call on someone who is no
better than those punks? That so called vigilante doesn’t deal with petty
crimes: that’s what your good neighbourhoodTown Watch is for!” Telma
turned on her heel to face one of the guards.

“Uh-huh. Yeah, like I’m going to believe
that,” she snorted. “I’d rather wait for someone efficient than rely on some
useless layabouts!”

As if on cue, the notorious Ranger
appeared next to them, holding her purse in one gauntleted hand and the thief’s
collar in the other.

“Excuse me, Lady Telma, I believe
this is yours,” he handed her the purse, “and I believe this is yours.” He finished, throwing the bound thief at the
guard’s feet. “Adieu.” With a swirl of his cloak, he ran off into the crowds.

“My, my Louise. Isn’t he something?
I’ll tell you what, though, I believe I know who he is!”

õ

After nearly four moons of living in
Hyrule’s wilds, the Ranger finally made his way into FaronProvince.
He was going to meet with the mayor of the lonely little village that was
situated in Ordon woods. He had already met with the leaders of the other
settlements in Hyrule.

Although the winter’s frosty breath
had removed the forest’s foliage, the Ranger’s cloak still allowed him to move
unseen through the trees. It also helped his cover that the treads on his boots
were shaped like the paw prints of a wolf, and that the toes were studded with
short metal spikes to present the illusion of claws.

Just like the creature from which
he’d borrowed signature footprints, the Ranger stalked silently through the
forest, and then swiftly climbed a tree when he heard a voice.

“Are you going to protect me this
time, Thunderpaw?” the young woman’s voice said to a response of a happy
sounding bark which then turned into a menacing growl. “What’s wrong, boy? What
do you see?” there was a pause pregnant with tension. “…wolf tracks! Any
they’re fresh, too…but that’s strange. There’s only one set…a scout perhaps?”

However, the Ranger had a knack for
determining an animal’s emotions through the sounds it made, and the Border
collie wasn’t worried about a wolf, or even wolves
for that matter. There was something else lurking through the forest….

Using the binocular function on his
mask, the Ranger scanned the clearing from the tree in which he sat. It wasn’t
until he moved his hawkeyed gaze to the edge of the small clearing that he saw
the danger.

There was a massive earth coloured
grizzly bear heading straight for the woman and her dog.

***************

When Thunderpaw began growling
fiercely, Ilia frantically looked for the threat. She began to think the dog
was being paranoid until out of the corner of her eye she saw the seven foot
tall bear lumbering toward her.

“B-b-bear!” she gasped. Thunderpaw
barked at it, snapping his jaws. “No, you stupid dog!” she yelled. That wasn’t
a very bright move, however, because the collie’s threatening body language and
her angry shout provoked the bear. It reared on its hind paws, roaring and
brandishing its knifelike claws. It took a step closer to her with its lips
peeled back that revealed fangs as long as her middle finger. Its fishy
smelling breath plumed in the cold air. In her fear, Ilia could feel those
fangs tearing at her soft flesh and imagined the searing pain.

Her father had always told her to
play dead in the presence of a bear, but what could she do if it already knew
she was alive?

Back
away slowly, but don’t let it corner you, she remembered him advising her. If it’s a female with cubs, you’re as good
as dead, though. It’s best to avoid them altogether. Well, it was a little
too late for that.

The bear took a swipe at Thunderpaw
with one of its massive paws, catching it full on the side flank. With a
terrified yelp of pain, the dog slammed against a mighty oak and fell, leaving
a smear of dark blood on the bark.He
was dead before he hit the ground. Now Ilia was utterly defenceless. Suddenly,
an arrow zipped past the bear, lightly grazing its muzzle.

“Come now, Bruno! For shame on you
to be attacking innocent people!” said a voice vindictively from above. A figure
clad in a dark green and brown mottled cloak leapt from the trees and landed
nimbly between her and the bear. The famed Ranger had come to her rescue yet
again.

The enigmatic young man stood on his
toes and fanned out the hems of his cloak like a dragon spreading its mighty
wings, trying to appear bigger than the bear. It roared at him, and he roared
back at it, lunging forward. To Ilia’s surprise, the bear moaned and plodded
away.

“Are you okay? I hope old Bruno the
bear didn’t scare you too much. The strange thing is, though, he should be
hibernating,” said the Ranger to a petrified Ilia.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Alright then, adieu!” he said with
a sweeping bow, and then motioned to leave.

“No, wait!” Ilia exclaimed. The
Ranger turned back.

“What do you need? The bear is gone,
and you are safe,” he replied confusedly.

“Tell me who you are.”

The Ranger visibly bristled. “I’m
sorry, I can’t do that. I wish to remain, how you say, incognito. Besides, if I did tell you, how do I know you will not
betray me?”

“There’s nothing I can do to assure
you that you can trust me, but know this: I will continue to purposefully throw
myself in danger until you tell me,” Ilia responded curtly, her words no idle
threat. The Ranger stood pensive for a moment, and then he laughed.

“A sure thing it is! Well, if you
can promise me on your life and perhaps mine, I will tell you.”

“I promise…on your life and my own.”

He nodded and then removed his cowl.
This motion exposed a head of shaggy golden blond hair and long, pointed ears
pierced twice. He then removed his mask, showing her sapphire blue eyes and a
thin neatly cut beard that looked as if someone had implanted short strands of
golden thread into his jaw and chin.

“Do I really need to tell you my
name, Ilia?” he asked. Ilia shook her head because she now knew exactly who the
ranger was.

He was Link.

Chapter
Seven: Traitors and Tidings of Evil

“LINK! I CAN’T
BELIEVE IT! IS IT REALLY YOU? Where have you been for the past five years? You have no idea how much I— everyone—have missed you!” Ilia exclaimed,
throwing herself at her very best friend. Even though her nearly hysterical
joy, a dark thought crossed her mind: if he had changed so much within the mere
months during his fight against Zant and Ganondorf, how altered was he after
five years? She was almost afraid to find out.

***************

When Ilia had tackled him to the ground, Link’s breath whooshed out
of him, leaving him winded.

“Aargh! I missed you too,” he wheezed, and then helped her up. “You
know, the snow is far too cold to be wrestling in, and I think that kind of
thing is for little kids, anyway.” He laughed and shook his head. Despite his
apparent mirth; the knife of his worry twisted in his gut. Ever since he’d
initially returned to Hyrule, Link’s thoughts had been dominated by how he
would possibly confront Ilia after being apart for five years. Now he was
desperately trying to think of a way to tell her exactly why he had returned
and he assumed she wouldn’t take his news well. Most people would generally
feel agitated at the news of impending danger.

“I should have known that you were the Ranger, Link, I mean, I even saw Epona that day. I guess I didn’t put
two and two together,” Ilia told him as they walked through the forest.

“Well, I did, you know,” Link replied. “Guess what they make?”

“What?”

“Four.”

“Ha, ha, very funny. Oh, this is so great!” Ilia exclaimed as she
grabbed his hands and faced him. “Everyone is going to be so happy once they
know you’re back! I’ll keep my promise to you, though. No one will ever know
that you’re the Ranger.” Link nodded solemnly, and then turned away.

“Listen, Ilia…about that I’m back, they won’t know. In fact, I
shouldn’t even have told you,” he said.

“Oh and why did you return? Kindly tell me,” Ilia replied, her voice
quavering a little. If she was going to start crying, he wouldn’t be able to
tell her.

“Ilia, my mission isn’t over yet. Now, it’s important that you don’t
interrupt me, okay? Do you understand?”

“Okay, go on.”

Link sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “When I left for
the River of Realms…five years ago…I was told by
Princess Zelda—”

“How did I know she would
come up in this?” Ilia interrupted.

“Why must you assume—”

“—assume that you’ll come back for her—”

“—but that’s not why—”

“—always jumping up for her, only the gods know what your reason
is—”

“Ilia, LISTEN TO ME!” Link finally shouted when his temper reached
the breaking point. He grabbed hold of his friend’s shoulders and stared deep
into her sea-green eyes, searching for the part of her that thought rationally.
What was her issue with Zelda anyway?

“Link, you’re hurting me,” she told him icily. Link released her at
once and then backed away.

“ILIA! No, if there was any imminent or occurring danger! I came
back because some evil son of a Moblin1
is trying to take over Hyrule again! What do you think I’ve been doing for the
past four moons? Where do you think I’ve been?”

“I
don’t even want to know.”

“Okay,
enough of this! If you’re not going to let me give you a fair warning about the
peril we’re all in, than I’ll just leave!” Link said as he threw up his arms
and started to walk away.

“That’s
right, turn your back on me and run to your precious Zelda’s loving arms!” Ilia
yelled angrily back at him.

“Whatever you say!” Link called, raising an arm as he kept walking.

õ

Mayor Bo was startled into waking from his afternoon nap when he
heard the loud bang of a door slamming. He sat up in his bed, swung his legs
over the side with great difficulty and then hobbled over to his daughter, who
stormed angrily into the room.

“Ilia, what happened? You weren’t gone for long, not that I’m
complaining. Is everything alright?” he asked his fuming child.

“It wasn’t Link, was it? Ah, it was, I can tell. No one vexes you
quite like he does, even when you two were children it’s been that way. What
went wrong between you two? I assumed you’d be overjoyed at his return,” the
aging mayor said calmly to his daughter. Ilia sighed.

“You’re right, papa, it was Link…but he’s changed a lot since I last
saw him. He even looks different.
Anyway, after he saved me from the bear—”

“—there was a bear?!”

“There was. After it attacked and killed Thunderpaw, I was happy he had come back, but when he
tried to tell me why, I assumed and said so, that it was only because Zelda
asked him to, and he got extremely angry and , oh, father!” Ilia cried out in despair and hugged him. Mayor Bo cradled
his sobbing daughter.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll be alright, because he does know
that you only have his best interests at heart. The boy is like a brother to
you, after all, but if you’re correct in your thinking, that’s his choice and
you can’t interfere,” he said soothingly.

“I know, but…no good can come of that…. What if I chased him away
for good? He is the closest thing I actually have to another family member…what
if we never see him again?”

“Dearest, I do know this id a bad time, but did you tell him about
Conrad?” asked the mayor.

“No….”

“Then, don’t concern yourself with whom he chooses to keep company.
He wouldn’t judge you for that.”

õ

Link walked up the long, red carpet
that led to the throne of Hyrule’s Royal family in the newly completed throne
room.

“You called for me, Princess?” he
said as he bowed to the replacement ruler, since the King of Hyrule was on
leave. His fight with Ilia ran over and over through his mind. He would try not
to let it interfere with his tone of voice. He could not afford to offend his
employer.

“Indeed, Hero of Light,” Zelda
responded, indicating that he rise to face her. “I have important news for you.
It seems that the source of the growing population of monsters has been found,
and who has been sending them.”

“Important is an understatement, my
Lady. However, it is to my understanding that this is not all you have to tell
me,” Link replied.

“Correct again. The monsters have
been coming from the DesertProvince, and now you
have to find a way to stem their tides. It seems as though Ganondorf had a
Hylian follower,” Zelda explained. Link was taken aback. How could this be? I thought that the Twilight turned every light dweller into a spirit. Well maybe by
worshipping the evil master, he or she could have been spared the horrible fate
by his magic, or something…or maybe they liked the effect the Twilight had on everyone…anyway, they’re pretty sick
for looking up to that fiend. Link thought disgustedly. The appearance of a
possible sorcerer was a decent explanation for the appearance of more monsters,
but Link felt there was a problem with this logic.

Wasn’t the source of the monsters
originally Ganondorf’s dark magic that was granted to him by the goddesses? How
could anyone gain access to that type of power? Link gritted teeth in
frustration at his failure to come up with a solution.

“Who would be such a traitor? Better
question is, though, how could someone have the ability to create monsters
freely?” he growled.

“The only thing I know, and this was
found out through many moons of reconnaissance, is that the villain’s name is
Emperor DarkKnight. In order to silence the monsters’ cries forever, you must
infiltrate his lair and defeat him once and for all,” Zelda replied sternly.

“Then I shall, and I will return
here as soon as I can, bearing his head,” Link said, saluting her. He made to
leave, but turned back as a dread thought crossed his mind. “Suppose I fail.
What will happen then?”

“If you fail this mission, or die,
then Hyrule is doomed.”

*************************

Link spent the next few days
gathering essential supplies and amassing allies. Although he was confident in
his abilities,—sometimes overly so—he was sure that this would be one mission
he couldn’t complete on his own. As he didn’t trust any of Hyrule’s knights,
Link turned to his faithful friends that called themselves “the Group.”

He walked the streets of CastleTown
feeling weary and alone. He felt that there was not a single person in the vast
land that would feel as he did—as if the whole world rested upon his shoulders.
He observed the people that pushed by him on their daily routines, and those
who chatted loudly and happily with the people they were with. It seemed as if
he were the lone wolf of Hyrule. Link smirked at the thought, thinking to himself
of how literal that observation actually was.

However lonely feeling he was, some
people that passed him would seize his hand and shake it vigorously as they
said ‘swordsman, you’re back!’ Link would only reply with a curt nod and a
ghost of a smile. He shared none of their mirth.

When he reached the small alley in
which the Group’s meeting place was, the sign that read “Telma’s Bar” had a
board nailed on it that said ‘CLOSED’ in bright red letters. Regardless of the
notice, Link knocked on the door three times.

“Get lost, can’t you read?” the
voice from inside shouted angrily. Link knocked one more time, thumping on the
wooden door so hard that the hinges rattled. He raised his fist to beat his
fist on the entrance again, but stopped himself as the door swung inward and
revealed Telma bearing a heavy iron skillet and a look that could make a
dragon’s blood curdle. She looked ready to take his head off with it.

“Whoa, I come in peace!” Link cried,
holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. Telma threw the skillet on a
table behind her and then ushered him inside

“Well, well, well. Look who decided
to turn up after five years. Did you take time out of your busy schedule just
to come visit me, or are you here for someone else?” she said. “Well, in any
case, what can I do for you?”Link
looked around the small bar. It looked as though there hadn’t been a patron
here for quite some time. Chairs were missing from their usual places, all
glasses were vacated from the shelf behind the counter, and table tops were
laden with a thick layer of dust.

“Been busy lately? I guess not.
Listen; are Shad and the others here?” Link asked, wiping one of his fingers on
a dusty table.

“Yes, they are, what do you need
them for?” she replied, gesturing to the back room.

“I need their help. Apparently
there’s a fortress in the desert that is currently housing the monster army’s
leader. If we don’t act soon, there’s going to be a war.”

“I see…hey!” she suddenly shouted,
making him jump. “Y’all better get out here! There’s someone here to see you!”
the curtain separating the back room from the main floor pulled back to reveal
Auru, Shad, Ashei, and Rusl.

“Sure thing! How have you been,
Rusl?” Link asked the man who was like an older brother to him.

“I’ve been good. Did you know that
Abbigail has started school?” Rusl replied. Link was shocked. He didn’t know,
but truly, there was a lot he was unaware of these days. So much has changed…so much more is going to change if we can’t get
this job done in good time. He thought as he shook his head sadly.

“Too much, it’s true, maybe you
should sit down,” Rusl began. Link took a seat on a dusty barstool. “Where do I
start? Well, on a pleasant note, King Ralis of the Zora people is getting
married soon, and to think about it, his coronation is on the same day. The
kids back home have been invited, and Colin is going to be best man. Malo mart
has expanded outside of Hyrule, and it’s merged with Sera’s Sundries, so that
corporate empire is brining quite the large sum of Rupees into Ordon. I can’t
believe what an entrepreneur Malo has turned out to be! Speaking of Hanch’s
family, Beth has finally up and moved to the city. Actually, Sera sent me to
check on her, and that’s why I’m here right now.

“Now, for the…bad news. Mayor Bo is really not
well off, his health is getting worse. He’s on all sorts of pain killers
because his back’s got arthritis, and so have his feet. I guess that’s from
wrestling Gorons for all those years. Ah…what else…? Right, Colin’s joining the
Hylian Knighthood,” Rusl paused. Link took advantage of his break to say,

“And how, exactly, is that a bad
thing?”

“Come on, man! You know that nearly
everyone in Hyrule hates those god-forsaken knights! Ah, well. Ever since
he…well, he doesn’t want to work with the Gorons making weapons like I did when
I was his age. Anyhow…Luda, do you remember
her? Renado’s daughter? She’s taken over for him because, well, he’s ah, dead.”

“What?!
How?” Link exclaimed.

“He was hiking up the mountain trail
awhile back and was killed by a rockslide. That’s the worst of it, except…do
you want to know what else?” Rusl asked tentatively. The tone of the
blacksmith’s voice suggested to Link that he felt that he had no authority to
tell him what else he had to say. Despite this, the young Hylian said,

“Go on, Rusl.” Rusl took a deep breath and
continued.

“Ah…how do I put this? Well, Link,
Ilia’s engaged.”

“Uh-huh. Right,” Link said quietly.
His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor in a dead faint.

õ

Meanwhile, a small group of Hylian
soldiers was patrolling the desert sands in single file. Among this company and
at the back of the line was Colin; it was his first mission outside LanayruProvince.

“Company, halt!” barked the commander, Conrad Jackson. He was about twenty
three years of age, almost a head taller than Colin, and Ilia’s fiancé. Colin
was serving as Jackson’s
squire.

“You, Smithson, up here now,” he called to Colin from the front
of the line. Grumbling, the sixteen year old followed the order.

“Yes, Sir Jackson?”

“Tell me what you see on the
horizon,” the senior knight asked him, pointing in the direction of an ancient
sand coloured building that looked very much like the Coliseum with seven
pillars, each topped with a statue of the Hylian Eagle.

“Ah, that would be the Arbiter’s
Grounds, Sir?”

“Yes indeed. You’re a bright one. Do
you see any strange goings-on, Smithson?”

“…No, Sir.”

“Alright, well would you agree that
we’ve followed Princess Zelda’s instructions? Remember that she said for us to
return if we saw anything strange?”

“Well, sir, I—”

“Do you agree?”

“I—yes, I guess, but—”

“Right, men! Move out, we’re done
here,” shouted Jackson.
One by one, the knights used the Warp Stone to leave the GerudoDesert.
However, their quick departure caused them to miss one crucial event. A giant
Twilit-style warp portal opened up over Arbiter’s Grounds. From the portal
erupted a thin beam of light which shot across the sands to a part of the
desert that was partitioned by a yawning chasm. From the rip in the land, a
giant pillar of fire and lava shot out like dragon fire, and a volcano was
born. A figure in dark armour watched all of these events from the mouth of the
Cave of Ordeals.

“You shall be resurrected soon, my
Lord,” he cackled evilly.

Chapter
Eight: Visions of Dragons

“PARDON ME, MILORD, BUT WE
HAVE A PROBLEM,” said one of the Zora’s Domain sentries. King Ralis regarded
him with solemn eyes that were full of intelligence which was strange for his
tender age of seventeen.

“Continue,” Ralis addressed the
sentry, who shuffled his fins on the steps that faced the throne. And please, tell me what else is new these
days, he thought. The sentry sucked in his breath and began to talk.

“For starters, Snowpeak is
experiencing a thaw uncharacteristic for this time of year,” he said. Ralis’s
brow furrowed.

“How bad is it?” asked the king.

“Well, the frozen lake is completely
devoid of ice, grass is growing in
the foothills, and even the peak is beginning to melt. It’s getting so bad that
the Wolfos1
population is nearly zero! Though, I must admit that tourists aren’t
complaining,” the sentry finished.

“We do indeed have a problem,” Ralis
said, standing up. “We must find the source of the unnatural heat. Gather your
men and carry a missive to Princess Zelda and Darbus of the Gorons. I suspect
evil is at work here.”

õ

Zora’s Domain and Snowpeak were not
the only areas of Hyrule that were experiencing heat waves. The grass growing
on the grounds of the Castle had shrivelled up and turned brown, for it had not
rained in nearly three weeks; the creek in Ordon had dried up completely; each
of the Spirits’ springs and the level of LakeHylia
were considerably low as well.

The heat wave had killed so much
foliage that Zelda was becoming increasingly worried. Earlier that week, an
envoy from Zora’s Domain had informed her that Snowpeak, the coldest place in
Hyrule (its temperature was nearly always below zero) was beginning to melt.

As she read a letter from Darbus,
patriarch of the Gorons in her father’s study, the knight that guarded the door
stuck his head in.

“Lady Zelda, you have a visitor,” he
said. Zelda removed her reading glasses and placed the letter on the desk.

“Alright, send them in,” she said
quietly. The door opened wider and a man of about twenty three years stepped
in. “Aah, Link, what brings you here? Have you news of the events in the GerudoDesert?”
Shaking his head, Link walked over to the desk and stopped.

“Not yet. I was informed by a
certain Sir Jackson,” he paused and scowled, “that there was nothing happening
there. Of course, I argued with him. As such, he made it an order for Fyer not
to grant me access to the desert. Apparently, it’s been closed off to the
‘general public,’ and I need specific written permission from you to enter.”
Link scowled again. Zelda sighed and rubbed her temples. This is getting out of hand. I need to give the knights who actually do
their jobs less authority, she thought exasperatedly.

“Aah…I am sorry for your
inconvenience. Just so you don’t have to keep coming to see me, not that I
mind, wear this and you’ll not be questioned again,” she said, handing the hero
a simple gold ring embossed with the Hylian Eagle. Link put it on as he thanked
her and then left without another word.

When the door closed behind him,
Zelda began to writ Conrad Jackson’s Notice of Suspension.

õ

In EldinProvince,
things were really heating up. Many buildings in Kakariko village had burst
into a raging inferno after they had been hit with large lava rocks that had
been ejected out of DeathMountain’s cone. As such,
Luda, who had succeeded her father as the
guardian of the village, ordered an immediate evacuation.

“This is going to be very bad for business,”
thirteen year old Malo complained to his brother, who frowned at him in
response.

“Aww, come on, Malo. You know our
only real business was the Group anyhow,” said Talo. “You’ve still got the CastleTown
branch.”

The residents of Kakariko were
camped out in the fighting room in the Goron Mines, even though it was, in
Talo’s opinion, like a furnace.

“What difference will it make? Sales
have been cut by half there! If this continues, Malo Mart will go bankrupt!”
Malo growled angrily.

“Ya, whatever. Quit being such a
hothead, kid,” Talo said back, grinning nastily. Just as Malo was about to dive
at his brother, a Goron came bursting out of the mines’ entrance.

“Little Brothers!” he said in a
panicked tone. “You’ve got to clear out, quick! The volcano’s about to
explode!” Talo and Malo regarded him with bemused expressions.

“So? It’s been exploding for the
past moon,” Malo said. The Goron waved his arms and jumped, sending a tiny
shock wave toward the boys.

“Brothers, the lava is going to come
out of the mine’s entrance! You’ve got to get out or you’ll be fried!” he cried
in despair. Talo and Malo looked at each other, and then ran out screaming.
They jumped down the mountain path, dodging falling lava rocks, and ran for their
lives. While running, Talo looked over his shoulder to see the pyroclastic flow
gaining on him.

“Malo, we’ll never make it in time!
What are we gonnna do?” he screamed in terror.

“Talo!” Malo yelled. The lava had
just touched the toe of Talo’s sandal and burnt it almost instantaneously.

“Yow!” Talo yelped as he kicked it
off. The lava was about to consume him when Darbus, the Gorons’ patriarch scooped
him and his brother up and thundered down the mountain; through Hyrule Field;
across the Bridge of Eldin; and into the Hidden Village2.

“Stay here, Little Brothers. Impaz
will take care of you for now. Don’t leave until someone from your village comes
to get you. I’ve got to take care of that lava!” and with that, the massive
Goron rolled away.

“You…okay…Talo?” Malo panted.

“Ya, but my foot is burnt to a
crisp,” seventeen year old Talo moaned in pain as he showed his brother the
blackened foot.

õ

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my
friend the Traveler in Green! What’ll it be today?” the jovial cannon builder
Fyer asked as Link stepped onto the raft upon which the cannon hut was settled.

“The Oasis flight, if you please,”
Link replied. Without speaking or looking at him, Fyer handed Link a piece of
parchment. “What’s this? A notice of restricted
persons!? Who authorized this? Was it Jackson
again?”

“Can’t tell you that, no sir. I also
can’t let you pass, see, you’re the first person on that list. Personally,
after all you’ve done, I can’t understand why. If anyone’s right for the job,
it’d be you, I’d say,” Fyer chuckled and shoo his head. “Yep, desert’s off
limits to anyone without specific permission form the Crown. Sorry, Traveler,
the wagon stops here.”

Link smiled and laughed softly,
raising his left hand to shoe Fyer the embossed gold band that was glittering
on his finger in the fading light.

“Is this permission enough?”

“Where’d you get that?” Fyer asked
incredulously.

“From the Crown’s jewel. Now, are
you going to let me pass or what? I don’t have a Warp Stone…but wait!” Link
paused as realization entered his mind. If
I don’t have a Warp Stone, how am I going to get home again? It’s not like
Midna’s here to help me, and I can’t fly…, he thought. “Aah, never mind,
Fyer. There’s no way—” Link was cut off by a tumultuous roar from above. “What
in the….”

Suddenly, a giant black and silver
dragon dove toward them and raked its claws across the roof of Fyer’s hut,
tearing it cleanly off.

“Aar,
you filthy beast! Come back and get what’s coming to you!” Fyer bellowed. To
Link’s surprise, the dragon seemed to obey him, as it wheeled back around and
came at the again. “Eek! I wasn’t serious!”

On instinct, Link drew his sword and
took out one of his Clawshots. Taking precise aim, he launched the Clawshot’s
chain and caught hold of the dragon’s tail and vaulted onto its back.

“Whoa! Easy does it, big fella. Hold
on, what’s this…?” Link said as he struggled to stay atop the dragon’s
shoulders. The Triforce mark on his left hand began to glow intensely. It
became steadily brighter as he passed his hand over a purple collar that was
around the base of the dragon’s long neck. He grabbed hold of the collar, and
when he did, a Twilit-style pattern appeared on it, but instead of being blood
red or aqua green, it was golden. The pattern spread from the collar to all
over the dragon’s body.

The winged beast began to shriek in
pain. It thrashed about in the air wildly, throwing Link into the water,
through the blurred surface of LakeHylia, he saw the dragon
shudder abruptly and then the collar exploded into a cascade of dark shards. He
surfaced just in time as the dragon plummeted into the lake, sending a huge
wave crashing down on top of him. Link swam to where Fyer’s hut had been
relocated by the wave.

“Fyer? Where are you? Not
underwater, I hope,” he called out as he walked around the hut. E found the
diminutive thirty year old cowering in the lifeboat that was suspended from the
broken roof.

“Is—is it gone?” Fyer snivelled.

“Nope. You just stay there, ok? I’m
going to check this out further. Don’t move a muscle, got it?” Link replied. In
response, Fyer threw the cover over the boat.

Link put his Zora armour3 and dove into the lake. He could see the dragon’s body slowly
sinking, drifting down to the sandy bottom. He swam faster and deeper until he
was underneath the dragon. Using his superior buoyancy, he pushed the dragon up
to the surface and spread out its wings, enabling it to float. Link climbed
onto the bank of the lake and pulled the dragon onto it by its tail.
Cautiously, he walked around it until he was beside its head, and then he
opened the jaws and listened for any signs of breathing. Dragons are endangered in Hyrule…I really hope that I didn’t kill it,
he thought.

Suddenly, the dragon’s black scales
lightened until they were a burnished gold; the silver markings morphing into a
deep green. Only after this transition occurred did the dragon stir. Link
jumped back and pulled out his shield, ready to defend himself should the
dragon decide to roast him. The dragon sat up and coughed out a dark cloud of
smoke that smelled like brimstone. Had the dragon not previously been
underwater, that smoke would have been flame, Link was sure.

The dragon got shakily to its feet,
and stumbled around for awhile until its equilibrium restored itself. As he
watched it shake its wings out to dry them, an image of a newborn bird crossed
Link’s mind. The Hylian hero replaced his shield, and the quiet shk sound of the shield against the
scabbard of his sword caused the dragon to look at him.

“Um…I come in peace?” Link said,
holding his arms out wide in a non-violent gesture. The dragon continued to
stare at him with fathomless green eyes. It stepped closer to him with its head
cocked as an eagle does on a branch as it watches its prey on the ground. It
opened its damp wings a bit wider and thrust its long neck out so that its
great crested head was inches from him. The dragon’s nostrils flared and Link’s
tunic was sucked slightly toward them as it took in his scent.

I
can see that. Why did you save me? I tried to kill you and that strange man
over there, a deep voice reverberated in Link’s head. He looked around to
see if anyone had spoken to him.

“Wait, did that come from you?” he
asked the dragon.

Obviously, it replied.

“Just because you tried to kill me doesn’t mean you deserve to die,” he told it simply. “If you don’t mind me
asking, do you have a name?”

You
wouldn’t be able to pronounce it, but in your language, it’s Deku. Deku
looked back to where the pillars of Arbiter’s Grounds protruded over the
horizon. I am indebted to you, stranger.
Might I ask in turn what you are called by?

“My name is Link, and you owe me
nothing, unless you want to help me get to and from the desert,” he replied
with a flourishing bow. Deku’s head snapped back to him, his eyes wide and
filled with fear. Bad sign, Link
thought.

DO
NOT go to the western desert. I had just come from there. A great evil is at
work; where do you think I was transformed into a Twilit beast? I flew down
from the City in the Sky to investigate a fresh volcanic chasm that opened up
there, and then I was ensnared and taken captive. Many knights have been killed
there, mercilessly disembowelled and then had their limbs strewn across the hot
sand for the vultures to feed on….

“How do you know this in such great detail?” Deku shuddered at
Link’s question.

I
killed them.

Link gasped, fearing that such a
benevolent dragon may have been forced to kill Colin. His mind reeled,
rendering him dizzy. Though his vision swam, Link could see Deku looking at him
with concern. He put a hand over his eyes and another out behind him ad he fell
in a dead faint.

õ

When Link came to, he found himself
staring up at a high vaulted ceiling. Where
am I? He thought as he slowly sat up. Where’s
Deku? He was sitting on a cot in a large room with other cots in it, an
infirmary.

“Hello? Is anyone out there…? In
here…?” Link called out. He swung his legs over the side of the fold up bed and
walked over to an open window that let the soft summer breeze in. Looking out,
he could see all of CastleTown around him and a
vast expanse of Hyrule Field beyond it. What
a view! I guess I’m back at HyruleCastle…. I’ll never get
to find out what evils are lurking in the desert at this rate…although I’m sure
Deku could tell me.

Link turned around when he heard the
sharp clacking of high heeled shoes and claws behind him. Walking into the
infirmary were Deku and Zelda along with a nurse. The strange thing was,
though, was that the golden dragon was about a tenth of the size he was when
Link met him. He had gone from a colossus to a large eagle.

Look
who is finally awake, the dragon said, flying toward him and then settling
on Link’s shoulder. How long have I been
out? Link thought as he absent mindedly stroked the dragon’s feathery green
crest.

Almost
a whole day, Deku replied to his thought.

“He can hear my thoughts?” Link
asked incredulously.

“Indeed, he can. I believe it is
because he shares some kind of magical kinship with you, Link. It may have been
fated that the two of you meet. How are you feeling?” said Zelda as she pressed
a cool, uncalloused hand to his forehead.

“Just fine, thank you for asking.
Listen, thanks for the hospitality, but I’ve got to go back to Ordon, double
quick. The desert…,” he trailed off.

“The desert can wait, Link. Let me
share a vision with you. A lot has happened since you have been…incapacitated.
Clear your mind and breathe deeply,” the princess instructed. She took both of
Link’s rough hands in her own and began to chant in Ancient Hylian, and soon
Link chanted along with her, though he couldn’t understand how he knew the
words. The infirmary soon disappeared into a swirl of black mist and was
replaced by the scene of LakeHylia on the day Deku had
appeared.

Link
saw himself faint, and as he did so, a huge magical barrier materialized around
the desert’s border, enclosing it and making it unreachable.

The vision changed.

DeathMountain exploding was shown to him next, lava
flowing like a molten river down the mountain path and then building up behind
a barrier the Gorons had erected to halt its flow. A green Snowpeak was shown
next, and finally farmers’ fields yielding no crops and many bushels of hay in
the fields spontaneously combusting.

When Link came out of the trance, he
said, “good gods in the Sacred Realm! How…and why is this all happening? Does
it have something to do with the events in the desert? I know that sounds
far-fetched, but come on! A heat wave
that has lasted for the past moon and a
half! That’s not right, princess. I mean, first, my new powers, then—”

“—Your new powers? What is the
meaning of this? What can you do?” interrupted Zelda as she fixed him with an
intense stare and tightening her grip on his hands.

“What? Oh, well, I can still
transform into the wolf for one thing. Sometimes, if I focus my energy, I can
make the wolf bigger than a draft horse and have golden fur. Also, I somehow, someway found that I can tap into my
Triforce’s magic, and sometimes it does it on its own, like when the magic
broke the curse on Deku,” Link replied. Suddenly, Zelda seized his hands and
pulled him out of the infirmary down a long, winding staircase and into a huge
room lined with full book cases.

“Where are we, a library? What are
you doing, Zelda?” Link asked when the princess pushed into a chair. As she
rifled through many of the shelves, she replied:

“We have to find out why your magic
is getting stronger.” She stopped and turned to look at him. “I have spoken
with the Sages recently. They seem to think that someone or something is drawing on this Realm’s
magic-force, and draining away energy, causing the recent natural disasters.”